Wafer dicing is the process of cutting a semiconductor wafer to separate individual microelectronic chips, or dice, assembled on the wafer. The wafer is ordinarily placed and secured horizontally atop a cutting table. A wafer frame is used to support the wafer, which is usually placed on a tape, one side of which has a sticky surface that holds the wafer during sawing. Saw equipment including a spindle assembly for manipulating a rotating circular blade is positioned atop the secured wafer. The wafer is sawn into individual chips by cutting through saw streets pre-defined on the wafer for that purpose. In conventional wafer dicing, silicon dust contamination is prevalent. This is because silicon dust particulates generated by the action of the saw slicing through the silicon wafer settle on the remaining wafer surface during further cutting.
A conceptual side view representative of wafer sawing systems and methods known in the art is shown in FIG. 1 (prior art). A saw table 10 or platform supports the wafer 12, which is held in place by an arrangement typically including a wafer frame 14 and a holding mechanism such as tape 16 designed for that particular purpose. A spindle assembly 18 is positioned above the secured wafer 12 and is used to bring a rotating saw blade 20 into contact with the wafer 12 for cutting. An optical device such as a camera 22 is used to align and control the path of the saw blade 20. Thus, wafer sawing systems familiar in the arts place a wafer atop a horizontal table such that the exposed surface of the wafer is face up, that is, directly opposed to the force of gravity. In this position, contaminant particles such as sawdust generated during sawing tend to remain on the wafer surface. Nozzles 24 positioned near the wafer 12 are typically used to cool the surfaces during sawing and for dispensing solvent 26 such as high pressure water or soapy water to wash away sawdust particles generated by the cutting process.
In order to overcome the contamination of sawdust settling on the wafer surface during sawing, it is known in the arts to wash the wafer during sawing. One approach is to use a high pressure wash of purified water to rinse the wafer surface. The use of a high pressure wash carries with it the significant risk of damaging the wafer surface and/or Protective Overcoat (PO) layer. Another common approach is to spray the wafer surface using surfactants or soap additives mixed with water or another suitable solvent. The use of surfactants introduces additional costs in terms of materials, labor, and equipment. It also carries the risk of replacing one form of contamination with another, by potentially leaving behind soap residue on the wafer surface.
Due to the technical challenges and problems with the present state of the art, improved systems and methods for sawing semiconductor wafers with reduced surface contamination from sawdust and improved wafer surface cleaning would be useful and advantageous in the arts. The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems described above.